The family feel among the Dance Stop Studios staff isn’t just a slogan or a talking point.
Many of the top instructors at the East Cobb dance instruction studio took classes there when they were kids, and returned as adults.
“They started with us when they were young and came back because they love the children,” said owner Lynette Strickland, who opened her business in a small former house in East Marietta near the Big Chicken in 1974.
One of the oldest locally-run businesses in East Cobb opened for its 50th season on Monday.
Operating for the last dozen or so years at the Merchants Exchange Shopping Center on Roswell Road, Dance Stop threw a bit of a bash for itself and the public on Saturday.
In addition to tours and refreshments, some current students performed demonstrations of their routines. Others showed up in their dancing clothes anyway.
Dance Stop offers dance classes to youths and adults in jazz, tap dance, ballet and other genres, as well as specialty classes for yoga, Zumba and Barre enthusiasts.
Strickland said the business has anywhere from 600-800 participants taking part in Dance Stop activities.
While many of the students come for exercise and enjoyment, those with other ambitions take part in the Dance Stop Company, a non-profit that started in 1980. It conducts auditions and holds performances for the public at larger venues, as well as at assisted living centers and for special events.
Strickland moved Dance Stop from its original location to a nearby building seeking more space, then to Merchants Walk as the East Cobb area began growing along the Johnson Ferry corridor.
“We’ve outgrown every place we had,” she said. “As East Cobb came out this way, we did too.”
She previously had two other Dance Stop locations in the East Cobb area that have been consolidated into the current location, which has four separate dance floors and a refreshment area near the front lobby.
Ray Hall, a former student who’s an associate director and instructor, trained with the School of American Ballet and the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in New York.
Julia May is another former Dance Stop student whose daughter is following her in her footsteps.
Kathy Pickle, who’s taught at Dance Stop for 30 years, came from California, where she worked in the film industry as a dancing double for actress Berrnadette Peters and was with the famed June Taylor Dancers.
“They’re just fabulous teachers,” Strickland said. “They know our style.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic closed Dance Stop, Strickland and her staff taught classes via Zoom for some time.
“It was difficult,” she said, noting dance recitals and other company performances were also called off in 2020.
The following year, “we saw a decline in the number of our young students, but it’s picking up.”
When asked about her own longevity in a demanding business, Strickland doesn’t hesitate to answer—with a beaming smile.
“One thing about this job—it’s just so much fun,” she said. “We have great students and I work with people I love. They love it as much as I love it.
“We are a family.”
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